Taninul Resort - "Place where the waters rise"

Only 15 minutes from Ciudad Valles in the state of San Luis Potosí, is an unusual resort called Taninul.

Taninul, which used to be an old hacienda, was taken over in 1986 by the Sugar Workers Union and opened as a hotel. This 700 acre reserve is located in the lushness of the tropical Huasteca Potosina . The Hotel itself is a sprawling stone structure of 130 rooms surrounded by manicured gardens. Tennis courts are available and the highlight of the area is its sulphur pool and parrot cave.

Since pre-Columbian times, the thermal mineral springs of this area were visited by the Huastecan royalty and nobles, who went to take the baths and soothe muscular pains, skin problems and generally reap the rejuvenating benefits of the water.

The springs run into the pool at its deepest part, draining out through the shallow end into a small canal. The waters are cloudy with minerals and when people are in the pool the mineral scum deposited on the sides and bottom of the pool is loosened and it floats to the top of the water. These loosened deposits are reputed to be very healthy when rubbed onto the skin. The sulphur smell, when first arriving at the hotel, can seem quite overpowering, but we found that we quickly got to where it wasn't even noticeable.

The shallow parrot cave lies just behind and above the large pool area. At sundown, the birds come out in force, screeching raucously and flitting between the rock clefts and the large trees just outside the cave opening.

Beside the Hotel is the Lariab University Museum of Ancient Huastecan History. Composed of several small exhibition rooms as well as displays outside in the surrounding gardens, the small museum holds a number of interesting pre-Columbian artifacts that are certainly worth viewing. Exiting the back of museum, the visitor is brought to an small outdoor animal preserve housing several wild cats and a couple of crocodiles.

Hotel restaurant serves a good range of fare typical of the area, such as cecina (thin slices of dried & salted meat), the Botana Huasteca (Huastecan Appetizer tray, consisting of tortilla chips smothered in cecina, sliced onion, serrano chiles, beans and cheese), and Entomatadas (another way of fixing cecina, beans and tortillas).

Contact information:
Taninul Resort, Km. 15, Carreterra Valles-Tampico, Cd. Valles, SLP
Reservations Phone & Fax: 52-481-382-0000

Birding in Eastern San Luis Potosi and Northern Veracruz (external link)

Hotels in Ciudad Valles
Hotels in Ciudad Mante

Lariab Museum